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| Election was, however, peaceful at Uzere, Enwhe, Okpolo-Enwhe, Oleh, Irri and other communities of Isoko |
More than 400 voters were disenfranchised at Ward 13 Unit 3 of Owhelogbo in Isoko North Council of Delta State by the army deployed to the area to maintain peace during the presidential and national assembly elections.
Speaking to newsmen at the polling station, chairman Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Isoko North, Godwin Ogorugba, decried the manner soldiers on patrol prevented voters from exercising their franchise at 2.30pm.
According to Ogorugba, voting materials arrived at the unit by 10am while accreditation and voting commenced at noon.
He stated that the smart card readers (SMCs) malfunctioned during accreditation, which delayed the voting process.
“At 2.30pm while the electorate queued to vote under the sun with their Permanent Voter’s cards (PVCs), the soldiers came and stopped the people from voting, saying that voting time was over.”
He maintained that all efforts to persuade the soldiers to allow more time was resisted and the electorate went back home disappointed.
Similarly, at Emede Ward 05 Unit 3, Joel Onowakpor, House of Representatives candidate for Isoko under the All Progressives Congress (APC), bemoaned arrival of materials at 2pm, even as the card readers failed to recognise his data and that of other eligible voters for over one hour.
Onowakpor described the situation as embarrassing and capable of causing apprehension.
He urged INEC to be more transparent and train the ad hoc staff to avoid same problem during subsequent elections.
The election was, however, peaceful at Uzere, Enwhe, Okpolo-Enwhe, Oleh, Irri and other communities of Isoko South except for the initial card reader failure.
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Speaking to newsmen at the polling station, chairman Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Isoko North, Godwin Ogorugba, decried the manner soldiers on patrol prevented voters from exercising their franchise at 2.30pm.
According to Ogorugba, voting materials arrived at the unit by 10am while accreditation and voting commenced at noon.
He stated that the smart card readers (SMCs) malfunctioned during accreditation, which delayed the voting process.
“At 2.30pm while the electorate queued to vote under the sun with their Permanent Voter’s cards (PVCs), the soldiers came and stopped the people from voting, saying that voting time was over.”
He maintained that all efforts to persuade the soldiers to allow more time was resisted and the electorate went back home disappointed.
Similarly, at Emede Ward 05 Unit 3, Joel Onowakpor, House of Representatives candidate for Isoko under the All Progressives Congress (APC), bemoaned arrival of materials at 2pm, even as the card readers failed to recognise his data and that of other eligible voters for over one hour.
Onowakpor described the situation as embarrassing and capable of causing apprehension.
He urged INEC to be more transparent and train the ad hoc staff to avoid same problem during subsequent elections.
The election was, however, peaceful at Uzere, Enwhe, Okpolo-Enwhe, Oleh, Irri and other communities of Isoko South except for the initial card reader failure.
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